The Hawks move to keep Larry Drew, and more hope fades
"Run the play where we shoot a jump shot. That'll work." (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)
The Atlanta Hawks could have changed a lot this offseason without doing very much. They could have said goodbye to both general manager Rick Sund and coach Larry Drew without having to buy either out. By announcing Friday that they’ve chosen to keep Drew another season, the Hawks have again sent the message that they regard being pretty good as good enough.
Sund’s fate — his contract expires June 30 — is still unknown, but it seemed rather significant that he was the only one quoted in the we’re-keeping-Drew release. (Would a GM who’s actually leaving be allowed to vote yea or nay on a coach? These being the Hawks, maybe.) And if you wondered how long Sund would wait to invoke injuries as an excuse for remaining status quo, the answer was 25 words.
Then this: “The Hawks have reached the postseason in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”
As we know, the Hawks reached the playoffs in each of Mike Woodson’s final three seasons, but that didn’t keep this crew, Sund included, from dumping him and promoting his longtime assistant. On the record, the Hawks have been worse in their first two seasons under Drew than in their final two seasons under Woodson, but apparently this, to Sund and presumably to ownership, constitutes “success.”
Which only goes to show: No matter how often this organization boasts of its commitment to excellence, all it’s really trying to do is not to look too bad. Would the Celtics or the Lakers — franchises that co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. suggested his team belongs alongside because all three happened to reach Round 2 of the postseason three years running — define “reach[ing] the postseason” as “success”? Could anyone look at the opportunity just wasted against Boston as anything but a reversal?
This offseason could have been — and still might, theoretically — a time for recalibration. The Hawks could have found a better coach (Nate McMillan would have been my first call) and a new general manager (Dennis Lindsey and Troy Weaver, assistant GM’s with San Antonio and Oklahoma City, would have been my starting points) and tried to reshape the prized Core Four to reflect the growing reality that Josh Smith, not Joe Johnson, is the key to brighter tomorrows.
Instead: Eight days after elimination, the Hawks moved to keep Drew. Why? Well, he works cheap. Beyond that, I really don’t know. To say he hasn’t been a disaster as head coach ignores the reason he was given the job: Drew convinced management he could improve on what Woodson had done. Two years later, he hasn’t.
Drew has de-emphasized Joe Johnson without finding a workable replacement for the Iso-Joes. (And the Hawks still do the Iso-Joes — just not quite as often.) One of the league’s better collections of youngish talent has become a crew dependent on the jump shot, which is utterly counterintuitive: You’d want a team so quick and agile to shoot driving to the hoop, not standing 20 feet away.
The most damning number on Drew involves, as do many damning Hawks numbers, Josh Smith: In his final season under Woodson, Smith took 263 shots of 16 feet or longer (this according to Basketball-Reference.com); in his first season under Drew, he took 526. The belief here is that Drew’s way of handling his most gifted player has been to let Smith do as he pleases, which benefits neither team nor player. The belief here is that Smith is less apt to listen to Drew in 2013 than he was in 2004 or 2011. The belief here is that, if the Hawks are ever to maximize Smith, they won’t do it with this coach.
Another sobering truth: The shortened schedule wasn’t exactly balanced. The Hawks played 25 games against the seven Eastern clubs who failed to make the playoffs, all of whom finished under .500. Boston and Chicago and Indiana each played 23 games against those seven; Miami played 21. Among Eastern playoff qualifiers, only the Knicks had so many games against the conference’s bottom tier. The Hawks played the minimum four games against the top four finishers in the West; every other Eastern playoff qualifier except Indiana played more.
The Hawks could have taken their first Round 1 elimination since 2008 as a signal that change is warranted. Alas, it comes as no great surprise that they pointed to injuries as the reason to stay a course that hasn’t really gotten them very far. Maybe they’ll fool us now by letting Sund leave and hiring someone to come in and bust up the Core Four, but in light of this offseason’s first big move there’s no reason to hold out hope. We’ve again been reminded that these are the Atlanta Hawks.
By Mark Bradley
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258 comments Add your comment
Disgusted
May 18th, 2012
7:50 pm
“Michael Gearon Jr. and Rick Sund are about as honest/trustworthy as Jonathan Vilma”
Oh, but they are such wonderful owners to work with (so said Dim Waddell when the whole thing went down with the Thrashers last summer).
Anyone have any idea what Teflon Don is doing these days? I think he was with USA hockey but I don’t know what he is doing now?
Man, are the sports fans of Atlanta ever going to have something good happen to them.
falCANS
May 18th, 2012
8:08 pm
Dammit. Man noooooo!! Lets just hope he keeps his nose outtaa Joe Jonson sorry ass and recognize theirs only one star on Da Hawks. #InJoshWeTrust
Billy
May 18th, 2012
8:17 pm
Damn good job Mark..Hawks owners are so stupid they stink…to blank with them till they wake up and get a real Coach and GM.
Billy
May 18th, 2012
8:22 pm
Second thought, What do u expect from a group of losers? More of the same BS.
falCANS
May 18th, 2012
8:26 pm
Only Atlanta natives should be allowed to post on here!! Trade Josh?? Idiots HES CLEARLY TGE BEST PLAYER WE HAVE, A NATIVE OF OUR CITY, AND WOULD BE NO LESS THAN #2 IN ANY OTHER TEAM!!! Management. Coaches and fairweather fans are responsible for not allowing Smoove to grow and flourish. Real fans love ya Smoove!! And not because your our most reliable player REBOUNDS POINTS ASSIST BLOCKS STEALS LOL AND TURNOVERS. Hey everybody can’t be freaking lebron
Sage of Bluesland
May 18th, 2012
8:38 pm
If you want change, then stop subsidizing the incompetence of this wretched organization and its inept ownership. That is the only way to have your dissatisfied voice heard.
To give them any of your money is simply throwing it away. They do not deserve it.
It’s such a shame, as the people/fans of this city deserve so much better….but, then again, maybe they don’t if they don’t stand up and vote together with their wallets.
joebama
May 18th, 2012
8:47 pm
Oh “falCans” how many all-star games has he played in…lol
tyger
May 18th, 2012
8:51 pm
Guess who Hawks not listening too???
Excellent decision…should’ve gotten 3 years
LD led his troop of wounded warriors to a 40-26 record…
He never let them quit, despite dressing only 8-9 players…
He never knew weekly or daily who was available…
Oftentimes, many were game day decisions….
Drew knew after season 1, what this team needed…
Repeatedly identified shooters…Sund responded…
Vladi, Green, Pargo, TMac…
He championed Jason Collins…he knows hoops…
He knows game not played in stat book, but in paint…
Jason not flashy but reliable and sound – responded…
Playoff is what it is…LD didnt lose games down stretch…
Lack of on-court leadership from PG, $21M, Smoove…
Even the game we won, Smoove threw ball to Rondo???…
Smoove, JJ, 6′9, 6′8 respective, but play on perimeter…
Teague simply overmatched, only a backup…
Conversely, Boston down the stretch…
Paul Pierce bullies his way to point blank range…2
Rondo finds KG in sweet spot…5 ft turnaround…2
Meanwhile, we jack up airballs, fadeaways…Game over…
He’s criticized for substitution patterns, but he’s the Coach…
I wanted alot more TMac and Ivan, but he’s the Coach…
LD has to run his show and live with the consequences…
If he doesnt win, he’s fired, doesnt matter what we think…
Kudos to ATL Spirit for bringing closure to this quickly…
Now, lets get ready for draft…not sure if we need GM…
LD knows what players we need…let Asst. GM crunch #s…
Gearons calling the shots anyway…
Sellitnow
May 18th, 2012
8:52 pm
SELL THE TEAM!!!!!
Hawkfan
May 18th, 2012
8:52 pm
As much as I think he is not a good enough Coach you had to know they would keep him and I even have to admit his record his year was good when you consider the injuries. For all who say we should have beaten Boston answer me this. Who were the 3 best players going into that series and what team did they play for?
Disgusted
May 18th, 2012
8:53 pm
They did the same thing with the hockey team Sage and look how that went down.
Fans cannot win one way or the other–You don;t go you lose your team, if you get bad ownership its something you are stuck with and you wind up subsidizing a mediocre product.
For me, I will not ever spend a dime in the Phillips Arena again until I get NHL hockey back and that is not happening in my lifetime. I mean one one dime and that includes non sporting events.
That arena is getting old before its time—Those blank TV sets got to be an eyesore, don;t know what is up there now.
What is sickening is the way they painted over that mural that commemorated the 2008 NHL All-Star game. Could they have not kept that momento of a Phillips Arena event?
Not with these guys. Deal with IT????
fbGuy
May 18th, 2012
9:19 pm
Anyone who wastes money supporting this miserable fanchisr is a half wit.
Dave
May 18th, 2012
9:25 pm
When Drew leaves, Atlanta will have been to the playoffs every year of his tenure and reached the second round two or three times. This for a team that was considered up-and-coming three years ago.
This is the high water mark with Drew. He promised bigger and better things. He has not and will not produce those results. His teams consistently do not play with much focus or intelligence in key game situations, which always reflects preparation and coaching (in this case, poor preparation and coaching). They show flashes, and we’re supposed to believe Drew’s genius causes the flashes and the player’s shortcomings cause the failures.
That’s exactly backwards. This team succeeds in spite of Drew, not because of him. It has potential. Drew has proven he cannot tap that potential. Time to move on.
RollDog
May 18th, 2012
9:27 pm
As a 23-year season ticket holder, I was waiting to see what Hawks would do with Drew. Now that they chose to keep him as HC, it made my decision easier-if I chose to renew. I will not. Goodbye Hawks. I say this as I sit in a hotel room watching Celtics/Sixers game.
I LOVE the NBA game. The Hawks organization could’ve sent a message to the fans that they are trying to improve by bringing in a hard-driving, tough minded HC instead of just hoping they’d improve with the same ol crew. No more checks (large checks too) written to the Atlanta Hawks.
BravesFan79
May 18th, 2012
9:41 pm
LOL talk about a bust… Evan Turner is AWFUL! 2 for 14? The Hawks would of smoked the 76ers in the 2nd round!
BravesFan79
May 18th, 2012
9:46 pm
That 2001 76ers team was really led by Mutombo. Without his dominant defence, they dont beat the Bucks in the ECF, and dont beat the Lakers in game 1. That was without a doubt, one of my favorite teams of all time because they played smartly (Larry Brown as coach) and had players who played with straight heart and intensity in Deke and Iverson. If it wasnt for overrated shaqs elbows and non-called fouls, they might of won the finals.
Whopper Dawg
May 18th, 2012
10:03 pm
It really is amazing that after all these decades of mismanagement the franchise still exists.
While I know it is not winning a championship, we need some sort of award like, say, “Kings of the Highest Futility” or made an annual award given to the team whose management and coach screwed up the worst, like “The Hawk”.
Ed
May 18th, 2012
10:03 pm
Am I the only one who watched the Boston series. Atlanta clearly should have won that series if not for Josh Smith throwing up his bricks at crritical moments. I don’t know what MB thinks can be built around this bum. Had he not put up that brick and Al Horford could hit a free throw the Hawks would now be in a very winable series with Philly and on the conference finals. You people want to crucify the coach at start over. The root cause is Josh Smith cannot shoot the ball yet he continues to fire away. No decent coach would take this job even if they did run Drew out of town.
Sautee
May 18th, 2012
10:12 pm
Mark, thanks for calling their bullsh!t exactly what it is. To call this season “a success” makes the mind reel.
As you asked: “Could anyone look at the opportunity just wasted against Boston as anything but a reversal?”
Only Sund and this pitiful group of cretin owners could. New slogan: We are a decent team!
Not Sund
May 18th, 2012
10:12 pm
I bailed on the Hawks after they traded Dominique, and I’ll bail on them again if they bring back this entire collection (Sund, Drew, and the core four) for the 2012-13 season.
There’s plenty to do around here besides watch the disfunctional Hawks.
robdawg
May 18th, 2012
10:31 pm
Mark, Great column!
You are excatly correct. The Hawks could have made a statement. They actually did make a statement. They are happy being mediocre, middle of the pack, being cheap. Larry Drew is a nice guy, but he is not what this team needs.This team needs a Larry Brown, a Hubie Brown, a ball buster like Chicago has. Someone that will sit Josh down for the rest of a period when he jacks up one of those 20 footers. What we do not need is a “player’s coach” This team will get no better with Lary Drew as head coach unless we get rid of Josh. GREAT ARTICLE!
DetroitBraves
May 18th, 2012
10:36 pm
Between the Braves and the Hawks you are on quite the roll Mark. Good article once again and good call!
bigdawg1
May 18th, 2012
10:49 pm
Larry is a nice guy, but he’s a Malt Liquor coach in a Hennesey league!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 18th, 2012
10:50 pm
“Best franchise in Atlanta, right Najeh Davenpoop?! LMFAO”
The last time the Braves advanced in the playoffs, the War in Afghanistan hadn’t started yet.
The last time the Falcons advanced in the playoffs, Roddy White was in college.
Did the Braves or Falcons advance in the playoffs last night when I was sleeping?
No?
Then yes, the Hawks are still the best team in Atlanta. Doesn’t say much for the state of Atlanta sports in general, but it is true.
Not Sund
May 18th, 2012
11:00 pm
@robdawg, i couldnot agree with you more. if i see one more turnover by Josh when he’s trying to lead a fastbreak, or one more time where everybody swings the ball except for josh smith and Drew doesn’t hold him accountable for his awful decision making, i might hurt my tv and I love my hdtv.
Slimjr
May 18th, 2012
11:02 pm
So you consider Larry Drew @ 28-47 against teams above .500[Winners] these past two years as pretty good?
Let me sell you the beautiful, magnificent GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE!
Slimjr
May 18th, 2012
11:04 pm
44
Slimjr
May 18th, 2012
11:05 pm
Gearon Jr has made a statement… FU Hawk fans and the like!
soullrenaissance
May 18th, 2012
11:12 pm
Right on to the real MB. Right on to the real and a big “KICK ROCKS” to the loser that run this organization. These greedy penny-pinching misers would not know a legit pro level coach if Phil Jackson fell into their laps. You get what you pay for and we get a mediocre, at best, observer for run to the team.
Not Sund
May 18th, 2012
11:23 pm
since the spirit gang doesn’t respect the fans maybe they would respect 18000 empty seats at Philips.
and by the way, is the spirit gang cheap or just not rich enough to own the Hawks?
Justin
May 18th, 2012
11:24 pm
Mark, I agree that Drew has done an inadequate job coaching this team. Yet you can’t see their performance this year as a failure or step backward. Even John Hollinger has gone on the record stating that in light of the very significant injuries that they had this year, their regular and post season performance was the best of the last 4 years. Your points about Drew coaching Josh still hold- they haven’t maximized their talent, but this season wasn’t the great reversal that you’re suggesting.
pj
May 19th, 2012
12:10 am
Woodson did pretty darn well in taking over the knicks and as little as Larry Drew “entertains” us ala Stan Van, Doc Rivers or Phil Jackson – he’s a good coach, who won the full slate equivalent of 51 games without his most valuable player for most of the season, a point guard who was basically a rookie and lost their 15 ppg 6th man.
Marvin Williams is and always has been the crappy contract on our roster. Imagine James Harden or Green with the Spurs in his place – and the Hawks – if healthy – are a passable center away from being what the Thunder are.
Wendell Thomas
May 19th, 2012
12:42 am
Right on the Money Mark!
These guys that support Drew, Sund, and the Ownership are probably players, friends of the players, or family members in disguise. This team is a joke and will never come close to winning a championship with the present system in place! Josh Smith is a self centered, egotistical, arrogant, non-team focused idiot. I have been a fan for 30 years with hope that we would finally get over the hump. I have come to accept that it will never happen. The down hill spiral started when they traded our hometown hero, Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning and has continued since! I cannot stand to watch this sorry exuse for a team anymore. I understnd what Charles Barkley was saying when he criticized this sad, pitiful, exuse for a team when he thought he was off camera. It sickens me to watch Josh Smith and Joe Johnson!! I love Teague but he gets under my craw also. For all his scoring prowess he needs to learn how to set up his big men….pass the dang ball Teague!!!! Drew had a really great bench but he chose to discontinue playing then half way through the season. Say what you please Atlanta faithfuls…truth remains, Drew sucks, Josh Smith is a teenage idiot (Yes he still performs like a teenage, high school draftee!). He is such a crybaby, self promoting idiot!! Look forward to the same next year you Drew, Josh, Joe promoting idiots!!
mdr
May 19th, 2012
1:08 am
Its so obvious why Atlanta, and indeed the state of Georgia as a whole, doesn’t support this team. If the owners don’t care about building a championship contender, why should we as fans spend our money to watch them?
No Sund In The Sky
May 19th, 2012
1:40 am
Its nice to read that you agree that Joe Johnson’s skills have diminished, Mark. I knew this before they gave him that ridiculous contract. You don’t pay a 14 ppg player Kobe & LeBron type money. But they dummernsheet Hawks did just that. Trade JJ to the Mavericks for Lamar Odom. I’m sure they’d do a trade. Lol. Rehiring Drew tells you that they have no desire to be better. Having a healthy Horford & Pachulia doesn’t turn Joe back into a 25 ppg player. It will probably turn him into a 10 ppg player…
waltbellamy
May 19th, 2012
1:51 am
No mas! I refuse to be emotionally invested in this franchise until Gearon Jr. and his band of mental midgets are a distant memory. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Stupid is as stupid does. That would be you ASG.
Dr. Warren
May 19th, 2012
2:47 am
Don’t you think the players themselves have gotten the idea by now that this team, as constituted, won’t go very far? Aren’t they tired of themselves by now and even more tired of their owners? It is like Groundhog Day at Phillips Arena.
niedermeyer
May 19th, 2012
2:47 am
Jeff: Do you ever just want to hit the road because of the frustrations of having to cover the Hawks?
larry d.
May 19th, 2012
3:24 am
Wait…so you guys say that i should be considered for COTY because of how I handled all the injuries, including the devastating Al Horford injury, but because we fell short against the C’s, I should be let go. Nice. I know that coming up short in the playoffs sucks, but when you have a short deck, things don’t go well usually…see the Bulls and their gift from God coach, Tom Thibodeau.
Civil Unrest
May 19th, 2012
6:29 am
ASG = Idiots
Nikki
May 19th, 2012
6:56 am
The Hawks retained Larry Drew because that’s all they can afford. Rick Sund became GM because he was the cheapest. I still blame Rick Sund and ASG for the Joe Johnson OVER PAYING. Sund will be gone. Now if Joe Johnson and ASG will leave Atlanta as well I can stop my strike against the Hawks.
Brian
May 19th, 2012
7:01 am
This team is lacking a leader….Drew is not the leader, he is nice guy coach….they tune him out…the chemistry has got to be changed….we need some players with some fire and passion…we have enough pouty, whiny, moody ball players with little or no accountability…tired of the excuses…the loss of game 2 against the Celtics reminded me of losing to the Heat at home without Wade/Lebron after we beat them in Miami the week before with both of them…def of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results….no changes expect similar results!!!
dap01
May 19th, 2012
7:05 am
Drew was the least expensive option. The Cheapest option available. The GM choice will be the cheapest also.
But we can be happy, we can still afford ISO Joe.
cdog
May 19th, 2012
7:11 am
NOW IF THEY WOULD GIVE RICK SUND HIS WALKING PAPER, IT WOULD BE SOME CONSOLATION. SUND HAS HELP DESTROY THE HAWKS. HE’S TERRIBLE
Zem
May 19th, 2012
7:12 am
Did you ever consider that the problem with the Hawks is a lack of consistency in management?
Big Ol Stinger
May 19th, 2012
7:14 am
“He’s a Malt Liquor coach in a Hennesey league”.
That’s funny right there bigdawg1!
Pinball
May 19th, 2012
7:43 am
WITHOUT YELLING, the Hawks main problem is Josh Smiths basketball IQ. Not Larry Drew…
GTanner
May 19th, 2012
7:48 am
Mark, I think these guys are just broke. They way overpaid to keep Joe (a tremendously dumb move, inexplicably endorsed by you) which has hamstrung them from doing ANYTHING else. They are in a bind and until someone with actual deep pockets wants to buy this team NOTHING will change.
GTanner
May 19th, 2012
7:49 am
Know any Russian billionaires?
dap01
May 19th, 2012
7:50 am
No matter what Larry Drew did good in the year, he still reverted to ISO Joe in the playoffs and the Hawks were easy to defend.
We pay an 18 ppg player $20,000,000 per year yet we can not even afford anyone but Collins in the offseason. Cheap, Cheap, Cheap, Cheap.